


Keepsake

by BlackKittens



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Introspection, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:15:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22313887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackKittens/pseuds/BlackKittens
Summary: Hiro takes Tadashi's hat almost everywhere with him, a loving keepsake of his big brother.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	Keepsake

The hat goes almost everywhere with Hiro. It's a reminder of his brother, a memento he can easily carry around, one that had been special to Tadashi and the only surviving item of his person that night. Hiro keeps it with him because it feels like Tadashi is there with him.

Tadashi is always there, of course, metaphorically speaking, or perhaps spiritually; but the hat fills the empty, physical space his body left.

The hat hangs off the lamp in Tadashi's lab, now Hiro's lab. Funny how they always end up sharing. He's glad the administrators gave him it when he finally enrolled. It's calming to work in the same area his brother once did, and motivating to feel like he's watching over him from the computer desk on which the lamp sits.

During class, on campus, and throughout the streets of San Fransokyo, the hat stays in Hiro's bag. He's careful not to crush it with the weight of his textbooks, notebooks, and messy clutter that he throws in there as well, always leaving it either on top of everything else or in a pouch of its own. He doesn't want to squash it, to make it lose its shape. It's reassuring to have the hat on his person, even when he forgets it's there. Because when he doesn't, Tadashi smiles in the back of his head, the warm, caring one that told Hiro he was loved, and when he does forget, all it takes it unzipping the backpack for Hiro to remember his brother's smile.

At home, Tadashi's hat has a tendency to move around. Sometimes it lay on his bed, behind the divider; sometimes, it sits on the work desk beside Hiro's computer; sometimes it hangs off Hiro's chair, sits quietly by his stack of homework and books, or rests on his own bed nearby. No matter what, though, it's never far, and always in view when Hiro turns around. This is their bedroom - Tadashi's as much as his, always has been, always will be. Aunt Cass has already settled that they'll never dismantle Tadashi's side of the room, which is a relief because Hiro absolutely couldn't stand the thought of losing nearly all remaining traces of his brother, even if it would only go packed up to the basement. Nevertheless, the hat fills their room with Tadashi's presence in a way that Hiro hasn't felt since he was alive. It's not quite the same as _having_ Tadashi, no, but the reminder no longer hurts in a way that has Hiro closing the divider and hiding his brother's room, all of his belongings and favorite things inside, away. Instead, it's a comfort now. Tadashi's presence is a comfort.

The only times Hiro refuses to carry Tadashi's hat on him is in Hero mode. He puts on his purple armor, clear visor, and black sneakers, and heads out while the hat remains in his bag or their room. He can't risk losing it, or its appearance somehow identifying him as Hiro Hamada. He'll come back to it. He comes back to it every time. In fact, it's become somewhat of a subconscious goal of his, to always, no matter what, make it back to his beloved brother's precious hat, regardless of what happens on a mission. But while he's apart from it, it's okay, because he's also got Baymax, another lasting link to his brother, who's become like a second brother to him, and Tadashi's friends, who are his friends now as well, and of course Tadashi's legacy, the whole reason they became a team of heroes and why they continue to defend and protect the city - Tadashi always wanted to help people and that's what they do. Big Hero 6 honors his memory. Hiro doesn't feel any less close to him in Hero mode, even without his hat.

Yet it's nice to come home to it. To Aunt Cass, to Mochi, with Baymax at his side, Tadashi's room open right next to his. Hiro often, frequently, finds himself curling up with it after a mission complete in the middle of the night, holding it to his heart and breathing an easy sigh as he lays down to sleep. Goal accomplished. He's come back to his brother.

And every once in a while, as he's being whisked off between consciousness and sleep, reality and dreams, Hiro can feel Tadashi's warm, smiling body on the bed with him, his hat between them.

Tadashi is here and his favorite hat is one cherished keepsake (of many) that will always remind him of that.


End file.
